Millions for public Wi-Fi, digital skills classes in Pa. cut as Trump targets ‘racist’ program

The canceled funds were supposed to teach digital skills and make laptops available at low or no cost.

By CHARLOTTE KEITH
Spotlight PA

Pennsylvania will lose out on more than $35 million in federal funding to expand high-speed internet access after the Trump administration abruptly canceled two grant programs that were part of former President Joe Biden’s push to bring broadband to everyone in the U.S.

The move came shortly after President Donald Trump declared the underlying law “racist” and “wholly unconstitutional” in a social media post in early May. The funding was created by the Digital Equity Act, part of the sweeping infrastructure package that passed Congress with bipartisan support in 2021. The decision affects more than $2.5 billion in grants to states, as well as local governments, nonprofits, and universities.

In many cases, grant awards had been recommended — but not finalized — when Biden left office.

In Pennsylvania, the canceled funding includes more than $25 million for the state Broadband Development Authority and almost $12 million for the city of Philadelphia to teach digital skills and provide free, or low-cost, internet subscriptions.

A grant to the Department of Human Services to help residents of 10 rural counties in northern Pennsylvania use telehealth services was also terminated. The department was informed of the cancellation on May 20, a spokesperson said.

For groups that expected to receive grants, the news brought three years of planning to a halt overnight, said Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. The news came as a “punch in the stomach,” he said.

Information about the grant programs, including news releases with lists of recommended awards, has been removed from the website of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees the broadband initiatives. NTIA did not respond to a request for comment.

A variety of factors combine to keep internet access out of reach for some residents. In rural areas, a lack of infrastructure prevents the internet from being available at speeds that meet the federal government’s definition of broadband. Under the largest broadband program created by the infrastructure law, Pennsylvania will receive $1.1 billion to connect every household and business in the state with high-speed internet.

State Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R., York), who sits on the state broadband authority’s board, said that program — which is separate from the funding that was canceled — is her top priority. “You can’t even begin to have a conversation about equity when a good part of your state doesn’t have any access to broadband at all,” she said.

Another Republican board member, state Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar of Somerset County, said the digital equity program “had a lot of faults” and was “moot” compared to the funding to build out broadband infrastructure. “What’s the point in teaching people how to use the internet if they don’t have it to use?”

But even where broadband is available, many people cannot afford to pay for it or they lack the necessary skills, knowledge, or devices to use it, concluded a state plan completed last year. The Digital Equity Act aimed to address these barriers.

In a series of public meetings held by the broadband authority in 2023, attendees across Pennsylvania said they needed the kinds of services the digital equity funding aimed to provide. In Tioga County: “a need for digital literacy programs.” In Dauphin County: “a need for teaching how to use devices.” In Washington County: “residents spoke about the issue of seniors falling for online scams and, in turn, being scared of hesitant to use the internet.”

“What experience has shown is that this is not a ‘if you build it they will come’ situation,” said Kate Rivera, executive director of the Technology Learning Collaborative, a Philadelphia nonprofit. “Putting the infrastructure in place to make sure households have the option to connect to the internet is only the first step.”

In its plan, Pennsylvania outlined its goals for spending the $25.5 million the state anticipated receiving: expanding public Wi-Fi, investing in classes to teach residents digital skills, and distributing free or low-cost laptops.

Those aims are not controversial, said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, one of the groups whose anticipated funding was canceled by the Trump administration. But since the infrastructure bill became law in 2021, the word “equity” has become highly politicized, she said.

The day Trump took office, he signed an executive order to end diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across the federal government, including “equity-related” grants. In early May, Trump called the Digital Equity Act “unconstitutional” in a post on his Truth Social media network, adding: “No more woke handouts based on race!”

The law aimed to help groups who face challenges accessing the internet, broadly defined. That includes racial and ethnic minorities, as well as older adults, low-income households, residents of rural areas, and veterans, among others. Almost 80% of Pennsylvanians fall into at least one of these categories, state documents show.

Trump’s decision to withhold the funding is legally precarious and likely to be challenged in court.

The president does not have the legal authority to withhold funding that Congress has approved, said David Super, a law professor at Georgetown University. Lawsuits have been filed in similar cases where grants have been frozen, or revoked, but none has yet reached the point of a final ruling, he said.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has criticized the Trump administration for cutting off other federal funding for Pennsylvania and has joined lawsuits to challenge some of those decisions.

A spokesperson for the Department of Community and Economic Development said that the state is “currently evaluating the implications and any next steps” on the termination of the digital equity funding.

The Digital Equity Act represented a historic federal investment in an area that had previously been funded in a piecemeal way, advocates said. With that money in jeopardy, there is no clear way for state or local government, or private philanthropy, to make up the shortfall. Even if the grants are ultimately restored, advocates said, the delays will cause major disruption and erode trust in the program among communities the funding was intended to help.

The $1.1 billion in broadband funding that Pennsylvania expects under the larger program, meanwhile, is on hold pending a federal review. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has said NTIA is “ripping out” the Biden administration’s “pointless requirements” and “revamping” the program to take a “tech-neutral approach.”

The current rules prioritize broadband networks built using fiber optic cables. Fiber is generally more expensive than other technologies but offers the fastest internet speeds. Satellite connections, such as those offered by Elon Musk’s Starlink, are cheaper to install, but slower and less reliable.

In March, a top federal official overseeing the broadband program wrote in a resignation letter that the proposed changes could “benefit technology that delivers slower speeds at higher costs to the household paying the bill.”

Pennsylvania completed one round of grant applications in February and changes could cause the state to have to start over. In a budget hearing in February, DCED Secretary Rick Siger assured lawmakers the money allocated would cover every eligible location.

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